When I visit my favorite sandwich shop, I always order the same thing: a chicken cashew salad sandwich on whole wheat (it’s awesome). Now, the owners know what I want as soon as I walk in the door. Which means they can start making it before I say a word. Which means I get my sandwich faster.

With today’s Stable release, Chrome now does the same thing. Except not with sandwiches. When you start typing in the omnibox and the URL autocompletes to a site you’re very likely to visit, Chrome will prerender the page, so it will appear faster--sometimes, even instantly--as soon as you hit Enter. To learn more, check out the post from our latest Beta release.

On the security front, Chrome now does even more to help protect you from malicious downloads. In addition to checking a list of known bad files, Chrome also does checks on executable files (like ".exe" and ".msi" files). If the executable doesn't match a whitelist, Chrome checks with Google for more information, such as whether the website you're accessing hosts a high number of malicious downloads.

In the near future, we will also begin rolling out updates to Chrome OS to further simplify the Chromebook experience. With a new image editor, Chromebook users will be able to quickly view, edit and share photos on the web. Users will also see an improved Verizon 3G activation portal, which includes the ability to set up a recurring purchase of mobile data.

If you don’t have Chrome, download it now to check out the latest features!